


The Gates

by Hobbitfing



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-30
Updated: 2013-05-30
Packaged: 2017-12-13 09:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/822774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbitfing/pseuds/Hobbitfing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili has a near-death experience and meets his father in the afterlife.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gates

**Author's Note:**

> My wife is the co-author, but she doesn't have an AO3 account.
> 
> I don't remember where we got the name Firi for Fili and Kili's father, but I know that we didn't come up with it.

“Kili, no!” Fili’s scream was the last real thing Kili heard as the path crumbled beneath his boots and he fell down into the darkness. 

It wasn’t so bad, really. After a moment, it was almost pleasant—dark, warm, peaceful as his mother’s arms as he drifted off to sleep. There were even things to look at, pretty flashes and sparkles that vanished after a moment, but let him know that he wasn’t alone, that the darkness wasn’t everywhere. And then he was walking toward a great gate, carved into the side of a mountain. His surroundings faded into darkness all around him, but the gate he could see clearly. He kept going; there was nowhere and nothing else. 

A young dwarf warrior strode out from the gate to meet him, a bow over his shoulder. “Zumur-mizim!”

Kili frowned; that was his stone-name, the name only dwarves knew, and then often only family and close friends. He didn’t know the dwarf who was approaching him, but he thought that he recognized the bow. And the stranger was certainly familiar. Kili stopped. “Who are you?” he called. 

“I’m your father,” he smiled, opening his arms for his son. “I’m Firi.”

“…Firi,” Kili gasped. He wrapped his arms across his chest and didn’t move closer. He couldn’t seem to move his legs. 

The plain-looking blonde dwarf approached even closer, reaching out to take Kili by the back of the neck and press their foreheads together. “You have to go back,” he murmured.

“Go back? I don’t understand. Where am I? Where are…we?” He could feel his father, smell him. He didn’t want to leave, not so soon. 

“This is Mahal’s mountain, where the dead return to the stone. You can’t stay yet, little one, you still have things to do,” Firi kissed Kili’s forehead. “You have many more years ahead.”

“No! No, I want to stay with you! It’s not fair! I never got to meet you. There’s so much I want to know.” Kili became aware of a tugging, something trying to draw him away from his father, this place. Something that knew his name and his soul. He tried to ignore it. 

“You can’t stay, you don’t belong here yet. I will always be here, darling, I will wait for you forever. I promise.” Firi’s smell abruptly changed to smelling salts and Kili recoiled at the strong odour. 

“I’ll be here.”

“No! Adad!” Kili coughed and thrashed and tried to push away the foul creature that had ripped him away from his father. 

Firi faded into darkness and another dwarf swam into view. Oin leaned over him with smelling salts and bloody hands. Fili was sitting at his other side with wide, frightened eyes. “Kili?” he whispered.

Something was dripping onto Kili’s nose, and he slowly lifted an arm to brush it away. His body didn’t seem to be responding very well. He brought his hand in front of his face and found that he had wiped off blood. Why was blood falling on him? “Oin?” he groaned. He didn’t like it here. It was too bright, and everything hurt, and it was loud and he wanted his father. 

“Yes, lad, there ye are, back amongst the living again,” Oin gave a sigh of relief, putting his hand back over his nose to catch the blood. Kili had given him a good punch in the face as he was waking up and now he was bleeding everywhere. “Luckily for ye, ye didn’t land so bad after all. Ye’ve got a broken leg and I’m sure ye’ll be bruised and sore, but yer heid’s still in one piece.”

Fili leaned over Kili and kissed his forehead and cheeks, tears dripping onto his brother unashamedly. “Thank Mahal!”

“Fee?” 

“I’m here, Kee,” he smiled. “They’re bringing down a stretcher to carry you back up,” he sniffled.

“I saw him! I saw adad! He’s…he’s waiting for us, Fee, and he’s handsome and strong and he’s ours.” Kili sounded fierce and frantic, and he was clearly desperate for his brother to understand. He blinked, and it was gone. “Oin? How can blood be dripping on me?”

“Ye hit me in the nose, lad, nothin’ ta worry about,” Oin assured him, grabbing a thick pad of cloth and holding it under his nose.

Fili looked somewhere between concerned, puzzled and happy. “You saw adad?” he said quietly.

“Oh, Oin, I’m so sorry…” Being a dwarvish apothecary was a dangerous business. It was very hard to focus, but Kili forced himself to look back at his brother. He nodded, reaching for Fili’s hand. “Everyone’s ok?”

“Yeah, everyone’s okay,” Fili assured him, patting his brother’s hand. “You can rest for a bit, until the stretcher gets here. Oin says you’re going to be okay.”

Kili grinned. “’k. That’s good. I’m awfully tired.” He yawned and gently gripped Fili’s hand back. Already the details of his vision were fading and blurring. He could only hope to hold onto his father’s face, voice, smell until they were united again forever. 

“Love you, Kee.” Fili whispered as his brother fell asleep, still holding his hand.


End file.
